Anonymous
04.04.2003, 20:00
I like to respond to your request regarding 'Erdrezept'. A great compliment for me if someone like you is showing interest. Very nice.
Well, the potting mix I am using is originally based on a simple recipe I got from my late neighbor Frank of Webster Groves, St. Louis County, Missouri.
Frank's interest was not really epiphyllums, the only variety he ever had just happened to him, he kept it because it was performing so well, we counted once about 240 blooms on one plant (he had at least 10 plants), neighbors used to stop by and admire it (red, medium sized flowers, occasional 'off-season' bloom). He was growing this one for some 20 years or so I think.
Frank grew black raspberries commercially, after his retirement he raised in his garden roses and black raspberries, for all his plants including the epiphyllums he used about the same mix.
Frank's potting mix (by volume).
1 part garden loam
1 part well rotted cow manure
1 part coarse sand (builder's sand).
In lieu of the garden loam he used sometimes leaf mold (at least one year old) - he made his own leaf mold, mainly from maple and oak. The cow manure was well aged, at least 2 years old, he usually got it from a farmer. He fed the epiphyllum with balanced fertilizer, the same he used for his roses, during the sommer months he kept it in the garden, grew it in 1/2 sun or so, it overwintered in his basement in total darkness, just above freezing. As far as I know, it proved to be pest and disease free and was doing just beautifully.
Since he did not know it's name, we named it Cecil Cactus, in memory of my English Bulldog Cecil.
California Epi Center discouraged me to include that much manure in the mix, I modified Frank's Mix and setttled with the following potting mix (by volume):
1 part leaf mold
1 part fine redwood bark (about 1/2 inch in diameter)
1 part coarse sand (builder's sand) or small gravel
1/2 part cow manure (commercially packaged)
I add 1 cup (about 1/4 liter according to my cook book) of bone meal to each 5 gallons of the mixture.(one gallon is about 3.8 liters). Or I add a pinch of bone meal per 4-5 inch pot.
I like to mulch with bark (up to one inch).
If I don't have leaf mold available, I use commercially packaged camellia-azalea mix and if I don't have the sand I just use perlite.
(I could not get the redwood bark here in Vienna, I am using pine bark instead. Because of the BSE crisis bone meal is not available here, I just omitted it, I will look for a substitute this year ).
My choice of above mix was based upon cultural instructions published by California Epi Center and Rainbow Gardens, and upon Frank's saying that the sand contributes to sturdy growth and that manure is beneficial at any rate and is supposed to do the trick. I am using the same mix for almost 15 years now, have altogether more than 40 epiphyllum hybrids (excluding the ones I got from you) and I believe they are as easy as anything can be. I try too meet their basic requirements, besides that they seem to thrive on ignorance and neglect.
Since the potting mix is just part of their culture, I want to say a few words about climate and overall growing conditions.
I grew epiphyllums in St. Louis where the climate is hot and humid (temperatures in summer are often in the upper nineties, that is over 35°C, 90% relative humidity), hazy sunshine, and it really does not cool down at night. Later I moved to Los Altos Hills, Santa Clara County, California. The sun is bright, there are long spells of hot weather with temperatures in the upper nineties and occasionally above 100, nights are comfortable, humidity is low, a typical semi-arid region where it does not rain for at least 8 months per year. The rainy season is in December and January where it is quite cool and sometimes there is frost at night.
Growing Conditions:
I am growing epiphyllums in the garden - in California all year round, in St Louis they stayed outside untill frost, and in Vienna I kept them last summer on a loggia. I do not have any experience growing them indoors, under glass or under fluorescent lights. I like to hang them from trees or shrubs or I sink the pots in the soil. (Very nice idea growing them on windowsills, anyway, on my windowsills there was never enough space, not even for a small coffe cup).
I basically follow growing instructions published by California Epi Center and Rainbow Gardens and I go by the advise I got from Frank.
Frank suggested to give them as much sunlight as possible without injuring the plants. In St. Louis I kept them during the morning hours in full sun (it is actually always hazy there), in the afternoon in 1/2 sun or indirect light. In California, the sun is bright, I use 60% shadecloth and in the afternoon they are additionally shaded by trees. I think the amount of light they are getting on a sunny day is about 3000 - 6000 footcandles for several hours in the morning and maybe 1000 - 2000 footcandles in the afternoon.
Fertilizer: In the past I used liquid físh fertilizer, I cannot get it any more, so I just use a balanced fertilizer during summer and a low-nitrogen fertilizer in late fall.
Indoors, during winter, I try to keep them at temperatures that range between +3°C and 10°C. (if it warms up outside, it will be more than 10°C). I water sometimes just once or twice during winter (that was in St. Louis from November through March, beginning of April), I never let them dry out though.
While indoors, I do not expose them to artificial light at night, I don't turn the lights on after sundown.
During the rainy season in California they are often soaking wet (and cold) - sometimes for several weeks - it does not matter, they don't rot or become sick otherwise, I rather think they benefit somehow from rough conditions in late fall and winter.
All epiphyllums I ever purchased bloom heavily, many bloomed on 2 year old, most on 3 year old plants, for some it took 4 years to bloom, which was still considered normal by California Epi Center. I like to pot two or three cuttings together in an 8 inch pot (same variety).
Frank used to tell me that if an epiphyllum has a tendency to hanging growth, this tendency should be encouraged, resulting in more blooms, I follow his advise.(You are the expert, you probably think this is science fiction, sometimes I think that too).
There have been very few problems I encountered- avoidable altogether if I had given their culture more thought.
Minor frost damage, more or less severe sunburn -happened in California, and I learned that slugs and snails just love them - they can eat incredibly fast. Occasional sow bug infestations I control by watering with Malathion. (In my opinion sow bugs are harmless, I think). Besides that, they are pest and disease free. I have never seen a fungus on an epiphyllum, not even in St. Louis, where there was black spot and mildew almost everywhere in the garden, especially in fall.
I think, I am doing something right, maybe I just like them.
Sorry, I actually did not mean to write that much.
Well, the potting mix I am using is originally based on a simple recipe I got from my late neighbor Frank of Webster Groves, St. Louis County, Missouri.
Frank's interest was not really epiphyllums, the only variety he ever had just happened to him, he kept it because it was performing so well, we counted once about 240 blooms on one plant (he had at least 10 plants), neighbors used to stop by and admire it (red, medium sized flowers, occasional 'off-season' bloom). He was growing this one for some 20 years or so I think.
Frank grew black raspberries commercially, after his retirement he raised in his garden roses and black raspberries, for all his plants including the epiphyllums he used about the same mix.
Frank's potting mix (by volume).
1 part garden loam
1 part well rotted cow manure
1 part coarse sand (builder's sand).
In lieu of the garden loam he used sometimes leaf mold (at least one year old) - he made his own leaf mold, mainly from maple and oak. The cow manure was well aged, at least 2 years old, he usually got it from a farmer. He fed the epiphyllum with balanced fertilizer, the same he used for his roses, during the sommer months he kept it in the garden, grew it in 1/2 sun or so, it overwintered in his basement in total darkness, just above freezing. As far as I know, it proved to be pest and disease free and was doing just beautifully.
Since he did not know it's name, we named it Cecil Cactus, in memory of my English Bulldog Cecil.
California Epi Center discouraged me to include that much manure in the mix, I modified Frank's Mix and setttled with the following potting mix (by volume):
1 part leaf mold
1 part fine redwood bark (about 1/2 inch in diameter)
1 part coarse sand (builder's sand) or small gravel
1/2 part cow manure (commercially packaged)
I add 1 cup (about 1/4 liter according to my cook book) of bone meal to each 5 gallons of the mixture.(one gallon is about 3.8 liters). Or I add a pinch of bone meal per 4-5 inch pot.
I like to mulch with bark (up to one inch).
If I don't have leaf mold available, I use commercially packaged camellia-azalea mix and if I don't have the sand I just use perlite.
(I could not get the redwood bark here in Vienna, I am using pine bark instead. Because of the BSE crisis bone meal is not available here, I just omitted it, I will look for a substitute this year ).
My choice of above mix was based upon cultural instructions published by California Epi Center and Rainbow Gardens, and upon Frank's saying that the sand contributes to sturdy growth and that manure is beneficial at any rate and is supposed to do the trick. I am using the same mix for almost 15 years now, have altogether more than 40 epiphyllum hybrids (excluding the ones I got from you) and I believe they are as easy as anything can be. I try too meet their basic requirements, besides that they seem to thrive on ignorance and neglect.
Since the potting mix is just part of their culture, I want to say a few words about climate and overall growing conditions.
I grew epiphyllums in St. Louis where the climate is hot and humid (temperatures in summer are often in the upper nineties, that is over 35°C, 90% relative humidity), hazy sunshine, and it really does not cool down at night. Later I moved to Los Altos Hills, Santa Clara County, California. The sun is bright, there are long spells of hot weather with temperatures in the upper nineties and occasionally above 100, nights are comfortable, humidity is low, a typical semi-arid region where it does not rain for at least 8 months per year. The rainy season is in December and January where it is quite cool and sometimes there is frost at night.
Growing Conditions:
I am growing epiphyllums in the garden - in California all year round, in St Louis they stayed outside untill frost, and in Vienna I kept them last summer on a loggia. I do not have any experience growing them indoors, under glass or under fluorescent lights. I like to hang them from trees or shrubs or I sink the pots in the soil. (Very nice idea growing them on windowsills, anyway, on my windowsills there was never enough space, not even for a small coffe cup).
I basically follow growing instructions published by California Epi Center and Rainbow Gardens and I go by the advise I got from Frank.
Frank suggested to give them as much sunlight as possible without injuring the plants. In St. Louis I kept them during the morning hours in full sun (it is actually always hazy there), in the afternoon in 1/2 sun or indirect light. In California, the sun is bright, I use 60% shadecloth and in the afternoon they are additionally shaded by trees. I think the amount of light they are getting on a sunny day is about 3000 - 6000 footcandles for several hours in the morning and maybe 1000 - 2000 footcandles in the afternoon.
Fertilizer: In the past I used liquid físh fertilizer, I cannot get it any more, so I just use a balanced fertilizer during summer and a low-nitrogen fertilizer in late fall.
Indoors, during winter, I try to keep them at temperatures that range between +3°C and 10°C. (if it warms up outside, it will be more than 10°C). I water sometimes just once or twice during winter (that was in St. Louis from November through March, beginning of April), I never let them dry out though.
While indoors, I do not expose them to artificial light at night, I don't turn the lights on after sundown.
During the rainy season in California they are often soaking wet (and cold) - sometimes for several weeks - it does not matter, they don't rot or become sick otherwise, I rather think they benefit somehow from rough conditions in late fall and winter.
All epiphyllums I ever purchased bloom heavily, many bloomed on 2 year old, most on 3 year old plants, for some it took 4 years to bloom, which was still considered normal by California Epi Center. I like to pot two or three cuttings together in an 8 inch pot (same variety).
Frank used to tell me that if an epiphyllum has a tendency to hanging growth, this tendency should be encouraged, resulting in more blooms, I follow his advise.(You are the expert, you probably think this is science fiction, sometimes I think that too).
There have been very few problems I encountered- avoidable altogether if I had given their culture more thought.
Minor frost damage, more or less severe sunburn -happened in California, and I learned that slugs and snails just love them - they can eat incredibly fast. Occasional sow bug infestations I control by watering with Malathion. (In my opinion sow bugs are harmless, I think). Besides that, they are pest and disease free. I have never seen a fungus on an epiphyllum, not even in St. Louis, where there was black spot and mildew almost everywhere in the garden, especially in fall.
I think, I am doing something right, maybe I just like them.
Sorry, I actually did not mean to write that much.